World Cup 2014

He’s the man of the moment. Zinedine Zidane takes charge at Real Madrid, becoming the youngest manager in twenty years, the latest chapter in an extraordinary career. From World Cup glory to infamy, Champions League wonder goals, to documentaries, Zizou is a legend of the game. Continue reading →

Irish and Polish fans may have a special affection for each other but all’s fair in love and football and the huge clash of the teams in Warsaw means, with Euro qualification up for grabs, friendship must be parked for 90 minutes. The countries have previously met on 26 occasions, the second of which resulted in President Hyde being removed as a patron of the GAA.
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Over 140,000 fans packed into the Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium to see the great Pelé play his last ever game for Brazil. Taking a lap of honour at half-time He left the pitch in tears, as the crowd chanted ‘Stay, stay. Continue reading →

As the World Cup in Brazil comes to an end without the predicted large-scale protests, there’s been a subtle but consistent message visible on the streets, as photo-journalist Gabriel Uchida has documented.
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It’s hard to believe now following their humiliation at the hands of Germany, that many considered this was Brazil’s World Cup to lose. Arguably you have to go back as far as 1950, when Brazil last hosted the World Cup to find a squad that had been so unduly expected to win the coveted prize in living memory. The defeat in the final – which became known as the Maracanazo, the Maracana blow – has been recalled many times in recent days, with the ghosts of 64 years ago seemimgly excorcised by the current team’s shame, writes Aidan O’Sullivan.
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Adidas’ official match ball of the World Cup final has been updated. The Brazuca Final Rio will be used only once in the last game of the competition when Germany face Argentina on Sun 13 July, in the Estádio Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro.
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Forget what newspapers say about Brazilian hooliganism. I’ve seen and been living it for years. I didn’t need to read or hear about it. Nobody had to tell me how it is to be in a train or a bus with your mates when rivals attack, I myself have already lived it. For many times I also had to run from police even though my photographer card was on my chest. Brazilian photo-journalist Gabriel Uchida explores the dark side of the beautiful game.
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The loss of their star player is hitting all Brazilians, both young and old. It was all a bit too much for this little baby with the news that Neymar was in hospital. Meanwhile, the player himself issued an emotional rallying call to his teammates to fulfill his dream of becoming a World Cup champion.
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Every World Cup tournament causes us to recall finals gone by. With Brazil giving us one of the most memorable competitions in recent history, new Italian online magazine Marte.com has transported some of the protaganists of the current World Cup into classic iconic pictures from past editions with the help of digital artist Antonella Iozzolino.
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Brazil’s World Cup hopes have been rocked with the news that Neymar has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament after a serious back injury. The striker’s arrival at the hospital in Fortaleza was met by large numbers of Brazilian fans. The Selecao themselves were accused of rough-house tactics in their win over Colombia but David Luiz won back some admirers telling James Rodriguez in a post-match interview “You are already a world champion.”
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World Cup fever is sweeping the United States and with every hurdle jumped by Jürgen Klinsmann’s team, the audience grows bigger. Ahead of their last sixteen tie with Belgium, this promo video is getting America pumped. Continue reading →

Chile striker Mauricio Pinilla has had an image of THAT shot which struck the crossbar against Brazil tattooed on his back. In the final minute of extra-time, the strike from the edge of the box crashed off the bar saving the hosts from elimination. Pinilla also missed a penalty in the shoot-out defeat but it was the last drama of extra-time that will remain with him. The inkwork is accompanied by the line ‘One centimetre from glory’.
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On this day in 1990, in our first ever World Cup, Ireland lost out by a solitary goal in the quarter-finals to the tournament hosts Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Within days the Irish team would land in Dublin to a crowd of over 500,000 people in scenes that likely wouldn’t have been bettered had they won the competition itself.
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Someone describing themselves as DJ Carlos Danger has gone and made a EDM/Trap (as he calls it) remix of the USMNT chant ‘I Beleive’ that has taken this World Cup by storm. And the video has hot girls in short shorts. Continue reading →

On this day in 1986, Diego Maradona scored two of the most talked about goals in World Cup history. The ‘Hand of God’ at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City was followed by what many still consider to be the greatest goal of all time. Continue reading →

At the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, East Germany were drawn in the same group as the tournament hosts. In their first and only appearance at the finals, the East shocked the watching world by beating the defending European champions.
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Every four years, the bravest warriors from all the corners of the Seven Kingdoms converge to battle for The Throne. Watch the strongest showcase their skills on the battlefield MAracana in the Land of Reos. Valar morghulis, winner takes all. thebeautifulgamers.tumblr.com Continue reading →

Amar Shah’s family ran a sports store importing footballs from Pakistan so he grew up re-enacting World Cup moments with his mates. When Adidas released a historical match-ball series for the 2010 World Cup, on a dare from his wife, he set about a mission: to have a World Cup winning legend sign each ball in the collection. This is his story.
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Despite the concerns over protests, this has been a wonderful World Cup so far because of the Brazilians and their love of football. It seems each day, training sessions are interrupted by pitch invaders wanting to get close to their heroes, whether it’s Lionel Messi or the Seleção and the players seem happy to oblige.
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In one of the best games of the tournament, Ireland came from behind to batter Spain with Damien Duff in particular, a star of the show. Robbie Keane scored from the spot in the last minute to level and make up for Ian Harte’s earlier miss. But heartbreak came in the shoot-out. Continue reading →

Adidas have unveiled the official match ball of the World Cup final in Brazil. The Brazuca Final Rio will be used only once in the last game of the competition on Sun 13 July, in the Estádio Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro.
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He’s the darling of the Brazilian national team and the poster-boy for a host nation desperately in need of a World Cup good news story. In Europe, they question if he deserves the hype after a difficult first year at Barcelona but his personality is at odds with the reputation that preceded him. As we saw in last year’s Confederations Cup, Neymar Jr could be about to light up the tournament and live up to the legend that it seems has already been created for him.
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He’s been the steady hand guiding generations of football fans through some of the most heady days in Irish sport. After decades on our television, and 36 years tearing his hair out with everyone from Denis Irwin to Don Givens on RTE’s football panels, Bill O’Herlihy is embarking on his final World Cup as anchor. ybig.ie look back at some of Billo’s memorable moments.
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The Football Pools have created a good luck message to the England football team with a little help from a World Cup legend Gordon Banks. He created a piece of Banksy artwork to commemorate ‘That Save’ against Pele in 1970.
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Robbie Keane’s early strike sent Ireland on their way to the second round but nerves weren’t settled until a goal from the unlikeliest of sources, centre-back Gary Breen. Damien Duff, one of the stars of the tournament finally got on the score-sheet to seal the win and give us one of the most iconic celebrations in Irish sport. Continue reading →

World-Cup bound Portugal dished out a 5-1 drubbing to a weakened Irish team in New York as Martin O’Neill suffered his heaviest defeat. Cristiano Ronaldo’s side were too much for a defence in disarray, missing first choice regulars with James McClean pulling one back to sign off Ireland’s end-of-season tour. Portugal, ranked fourth in the world, move on to Brazil. Continue reading →

Known ‘O Canarinho’ The Little Canary, it is one of the most iconic images in sport. Yellow flashing with blue on bronzed skin, dancing, darting, with a ball moving like paint strokes. Zig-zags, turns, pass, pass pass. Brazil. The cradle of football. Movers. Masters. The jersey of the Selecao epitomises soccer and the World Cup, and when the tournament kicks off in Sao Paulo on June 12, millions will wear the beloved shirt in a nation besotted with the beautiful game. And yet, the garment wouldn’t exist – certainly not in its current form – without the devastation of Brazil’s loss in the 1950 World Cup final and the subsequent imagination of a 19-year-old from the city of Pelotas. Continue reading →